


Because of You

by tardisswimmingpool



Category: Mycroft Holmes/Greg Lestrade - Fandom, Sherlock - Fandom
Genre: M/M, mystrade
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-13
Updated: 2016-07-13
Packaged: 2018-07-23 17:06:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,026
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7472082
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tardisswimmingpool/pseuds/tardisswimmingpool
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Greg has an unexpected encounter with the woman who left him at the altar 10 years ago (Tumblr prompt)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Because of You

**Author's Note:**

> I apologize for any typos. I tried to write this up as quickly as I could on my iPad and post it before the end of the night because it was a request from one of my Tumblr followers and I didn't want to keep them waiting. Sorry! I hope you guys enjoy it anyway.

There was a tingling sensation in his back pocket as Greg Lestrade made his way back to his office from the copy machine. He paused for a moment, considering whether or not the text was worth answering.

"It's probably just Sherlock," he thought to himself and proceeded to carry the stack of papers to his desk. 

He sat down and took a sip of his coffee which to his disappointment was decaf. Shit. As if this job wasn't stressful enough, now he couldn't even have a decent cup of espresso. He yawned and made a mental note to have a word with the interns.

"Detective Inspector?" Sally poked her head in through the doorway which startled him. 

"Sorry to interrupt, but it's nearly one o'clock and your husband called like an hour ago."

"An hour?! Well why didn't anyone tell me?" 

"You were busy. And maybe you should tell Mr. Holmes to try your cellphone next time. You're on that thing so much anyway."

"It's not my fault Sherlock insists on spamming me whenever he's bored. He really is a pain in my ass sometimes."

"Ay, you're the one who married into that family."

Greg couldn't help but smile at that, "You got me there....well, thank you."  
Sally left and Greg fumbled around in his pocket for his phone. The screen was illuminated with the name of a buddy of his whom was on traffic duty that day. It seemed odd to receive a message from him in the middle of the afternoon, but Greg assumed it was just another funny story that Officer Logan couldn't wait to share. He was always known for telling jokes about the people he pulled over, so Greg chose to ignore the message for the time being. He clicked on the phone icon and scrolled down to his husband's name.

"Hello?" Greg grinned like an idiot when Mycroft answered the phone.

"Hey. Sorry for not calling back sooner."

"Busy day?"

"Just a lot of forms to fill out."

"Well, I won't keep you long. I just thought I'd call to confirm our dinner plans tonight. You did make the reservations didn't you?"

Fuck. Greg knew there was something he meant to do.

"I figured you would forget. Your mind has been pretty scattered lately."

"I'm sorry, babe. I'll call as soon as I get off the phone with you."

"Don't bother. I called this morning and made reservations for 7 o'clock."

"Thanks, hun. Love you. Bye," he hung up.

That was a relief. If it wasn't for Mycroft, Greg would probably drive himself nuts.  
His phone buzzed again.

"Greg, pal, you gotta check your phone," it was Logan's voice on his voicemail. "You would not believe who I caught getting out of a cab I pulled over today."

The next thing he knew, Greg was leaving work early to meet this unexpected passenger. Why? Well, that goes back to ten years before.

Her name was Gina. Her and Greg had met by chance when he slipped on the floor at the cafe and spilled his to-go cup of hot tea all over the front of her blouse. Smooth, right? His face red with embarrassment, he offered to purchase her a new shirt to replace the one he soiled. She settled on lunch instead. The two of them shared an intimate meal together, laughing and talking. Greg had such a great time that he nearly forgot he had a job to get back to. They went their separate ways but kept running into each other. Finally, Greg gathered the courage to ask her out.

The two were together for seven years and had just decided to tie the knot when Gina got cold feet. Throughout the course of their relationship, she had made it clear that she didn't want to be held down by marital expectations. She was a free spirit. Unfortunately, that meant she wasn't always as invested in the whole boyfriend/girlfriend thing as Greg was. There was no doubt she liked him. She loved spending time with him and wouldn't mind spending the rest of her life with him by her side, but she just couldn't find it in herself to take on the responsibility. There was so much she had planned to do with her life, and the closer she came to the wedding, she feared she wouldn't be able to do any of it.  
Greg had seen it coming. In the final weeks before the ceremony, she had become distant and irritable. The color had drained from her face and she wasn't sleeping. Most would see it as merely pre-wedding stress, but Greg knew better. She was having doubts, but was too afraid and stubborn to say anything.

His suspicions were put to rest when he found a note on their bed the morning of the ceremony. She was leaving him.

They hadn't spoken in nearly a decade and now an officer was calling up out of the blue saying he ran into her and she wants to meet up. It didn't seem right.

He clutched his phone in his pocket and thought about Mycroft. Of course he had brought up his previous fiancée. After all, Mycroft and him had been together for five years and told each other everything. But, he supposed, there might have been a few things that went unmentioned... Like the fact that she left him at the altar before they could even get married and then ran off to the States in search of an acting career and never talked to him again....He hated himself for lying, but it was just so much easier to say things didn't work out and that they ended on good terms. What else could he have done? He didn't want to wallow in self pity for the rest of his life, and he felt more comfortable approaching a new relationship if his partner didn't see him as an empty shell.

But now what? Here they were again ten years later. Greg was happily married to a man whom he loved more than life itself and Gina just waltzes back into his life like some old friend who wanted to catch up. But they weren't friends. Friends don't ditch each other like that.

His apartment came into view, and Greg put his car in park a few doors down. There she was.  
Gina had positioned herself comfortably on the front stoop and was waiting patiently for the return of her ex-fiancée. Greg cursed Logan for telling her his new address, but he would have to deal with the violation of privacy later. He sat there for a long while, uncertain of his next move. 

"What would someone say in a situation like this?" he thought, " 'Hey, um, so long time, ay?" or maybe "I've moved on, no hard feelings." Or perhaps the best thing to do was just to ask her to leave. Say you're tired and don't feel like talking-buy yourself some time to piece something together. Or if it comes down to it, just give her a piece of your mind."  
He didn't have much time to think. Gina had recognized the familiar tuft of silver hair peaking out from over the dashboard of the police car. She smiled and ran to greet him.

"Gregory! Long time no see," she embraced him and Greg stiffened. "How are you?"

"Fine, I guess. Ginny, what are doing here?" Greg thought using her old nickname would help ease the tension, but he still felt sick to his stomach.

"I'm in town for an audition."

"That so?"

"Ya. I ran into your old buddy, Logan right? Well, I asked him how you were. He told me you're a Detective Inspector now."

"Yup. I've moved up in the world."

"I guess so," she laughed a bit, "Well, it's been so long I just thought I'd stop by. I figured you had moved out of that shitty flat we lived in, but I didn't know your new address. Lucky for me, Logan was kind enough to tell me the way."

"And it didn't occur to you to maybe come by later? I was at work."

"Yea, sorry. I didn't have anywhere else to go besides back to the hotel and I just thought...I didn't mean to be a bother."

Greg sighed, "Well, since you're here, you might as well come in for some tea."

He wanted to punch himself for allowing her inside, but he didn't seem to have any other choice. All he could do was hope she didn’t dig too deeply into his personal affairs because he wasn’t in the mood for emotional manipulation.

“This is a lovely home,” Gina had said as they made their way into the kitchen, “ Is it just you then?”

Greg bit his tongue. It looked like there was going to be no dodging this bullet.

“Um, no. I have a roommate,” he brought her a chair and retreated to the stove to heat up the kettle. 

“Roommate, huh? So no wife, girlfriend?”

“Nope. Nothing like that,” he swallowed hard, “what about you? Are you married?”

“Actually, I met a guy in the States. He hasn’t asked me yet, but we’ve been talking about it.  
Things have really changed since the last time I saw you. I’ve changed. I think I’m ready to take that step now.”

“Good for you.”

“He’s a really nice guy,” she continued, “we were co-stars once.”

“So you really made it big, huh?” 

“I’ve dabbled in a few different genres, but if I can get this part, I think it’ll be my big break.”

“Well good luck to you. I bet you’ll knock them out of the park.”

“Thank you, Gregory. That means a lot coming from you,” she accepted her cup of tea warmly and took a sip, “Mmm. This is lovely.”

“My hu...” he caught himself, “my roommate loves jasmine.”

“Oh really? Tell me about them. Is that him over there?”

Greg’s heart skipped a beat. He was horrified that Mycroft had gotten home early from work, but he was relieved that Gina was pointing at the picture he had hanging in the dining room. 

“Oh,” he let out a breath he had been holding, “Ya, that’s him.”

“You two look close,” she was referring to how Greg had his arm around Mycroft’s shoulder. 

“How long have you two known each other?”

The fact that she kept saying “you two” made Greg nervous. 

“He’s the brother of a colleague of mine,” speaking of Sherlock as anything other than an annoyance burned his tongue, but Greg continued anyway, “He introduced us a little over five years ago.”

“That’s nice. And you get along pretty well, ay?”

“I like to think so.”

“That’s sweet. It’s comforting to know you’re getting along ok.”

“What do you mean?”

“Look, Gregory. I didn’t come here simply to chat, and I think you know that,” she set her cup down and took Greg’s hands in hers, “I came to tell you I’m sorry.” 

“About what?”

“Everything. I had no right to run off like that. It was immature and irresponsible. And even worse, I left you on the day of our wedding. That’s just inhumanly selfish. And I’m sorry. I’m so incredibly sorry. There’s not a day that has gone by that I didn’t regret what I did.”

“Ten years, Gina,” Greg tried to keep his voice at a medium level, but it was becoming increasingly difficult. 

“I know. I know. I was self-centered. Out of my mind. A major jerk. It ate away at me for years. I didn’t think I could fall in love again because I was so afraid of doing to them what I did to you.”

“But ten fucking years?! With no word. Who does that?! ‘A major jerk’ doesn’t even begin to cover it. That was a bitch move, Gina. I’m sorry for my language, but that’s what you are-a straight up bitch.”

“I know. And I’m sorry. I know there can’t possibly be any way for me to make it up to you for that. All I can do is sit here and take all of this in. That is my gift to you because I never even gave you the chance to speak your mind. So go ahead.”

“I’m married now, Ginny,” Greg sighed.

“What?”

“I’m married.”

“But you just said...”

“That man you saw in the picture.”

“Your roommate?”

“His name is Mycroft. He’s my husband.”

“Your husband?”

“I guess you’re not the only one who’s changed.”

“I guess not...since when have you...”

“I don’t know. My whole life I thought there was something different about me, but I guess it took a major heartbreak for me to realize that I had to take control of my life-figure out who I really was and what I really wanted. And that’s when I met him. He helped me out of that grave you dug for me. You broke my heart and he glued the pieces back together.”

“What else do you want me to say?”

“I cared about you, Ginny. I put you before everything else, but you never once reciprocated that. With Mycroft, I feel safe, I feel at home, I feel loved. Things I never felt when I was with you.”

“I’m sorry you feel that way,” Gina sighed, “If it makes you feel any better, I wish I could go back in time and change all of that. I wish I could give you the life you always wanted.”

“Well I don’t need you to do that because I already have it. I already have the life I’ve always wanted. There’s nothing more you can give me.”

“How long have you two been married?”

“Only three months,” his voice softened, “But when you’re with the love of your life, it feels like eternity. Am I right to assume you’re the same way with your fiancee?”  
“That’s how I like to look at it,” she smiled brightly, “I think I’m finally starting to turn my life around. He’s helping me do that.”

“And you need closure before you can go forward, is that right?”

“Only if you accept my apology. I can’t go on feeling this way. It’ll kill me.”

“I give you my blessing then,” Greg stood up and offered to take her empty cup. “You can leave now.”

“This isn’t just about that. Listen to me, Greg. I want to fix this.”

“There’s nothing to be fixed. I moved on. Simple as that.”

There was silence for awhile, but Gina refused to move.

“Do you remember when we first met?”

“Please, Gina. I don’t need this right now. I have to get ready. I’m meeting my husband for dinner tonight and I could really use a nap before I take a shower and get dressed. So could you please just show yourself out?”

“Well I remember. It was at that cafe on Main Street. You had ordered tea to go and some jackass forgot to put out the wet floor sign after mopping so you slipped and ruined my new blouse."

"Ginny, I don't want to do this."

"Oh come on, you remember."

"Well maybe I don't want to remember."

"But you were so sweet. You bought me lunch and we had a nice conversation together. We went our separate ways but I guess fate had other plans, huh?"

"Why are you doing this?"

"Because I want you to know you made me a better person. You made me take a long, hard look at my life and realize I fucked up. I missed out on the beautiful, amazing life that you could've given me."

"Gina, it's water under the bridge now."

"It's clearly not, or we wouldn't still be having this conversation. Just tell me. What do I have to do to make things right?"

"Go home, Ginny. Go to that audition, make something out of yourself. Go get married to that actor guy. Go have the life I was prepared to give you, but you rejected because I wasn't enough."

"Gregory, please."

Greg's head was spinning. He wanted nothing more than to just have her leave and never come back. To think she had the audacity to show up like this and attempt to apologize for something she should've dealt with a decade ago. To have unresolved feelings resurface like that, it made Greg sick.

"Just...."

And suddenly the phone rang. 

"Is that him?"

Greg hesitated. 

"Hey sweetie, what's up?" He said solemnly.

"I was just calling to tell you I laid out the new suit I bought you on the bed, but...hey, you sound ill. Are you alright?" 

"I'm fine. Just a little tired. I thought I'd take a quick nap before I got ready for tonight."

"You sure you're ok? Honey, if you don't feel well we won't go."

"Trust me, I'm fine. It's just been a long day."

"Only if you're sure."

"I'll be ok. Thanks. I'll see you tonight. I love you."

"I love you too," he hung up.

"You really love him, I can tell," Gina said, "I'm happy for you. I really am. You deserve this and so much more. And I just hope that all of this between us today can be worth something. I know we're not going to be best friends or anything. But acquaintances maybe? Just somebody you call up on the phone every now and then to see how their doing. I would really like to get to know you again."

"I want you to meet him," Greg said softly.

"What?"

"My husband, Mycroft. I want you to meet him."

"Seriously?"

"It's about time we put this behind us. I'm ready to be honest with myself and him."

"I would be honored, but..."

"It's ok, Ginny. If anything, I should thank you. If it wasn't for what happened between us, I never would've met the love of my life. You've given me that much."

"Thank you, Gregory."

"Tomorrow at noon, meet me at the cafe."

"Of course. What cafe?" 

"You know which one."

Ginny smiled and, to his surprise, Greg did too.


End file.
